HHBTM RECORDS
SINCE 1999
How did HHBTM start?
Happy Happy Birthday to Me records started out as a one-off compilation CD to be given away with the 4th anniversary issue of the Bee’s Knees zine in July of 1999. I asked lots of bands that I had interviewed in past issues, and that I knew to contribute songs, and almost all of them did. I then shopped the CD/Zine to some distributors, and it presold more copies than I had planned on pressing. So I upped the amount pressed, and had so much fun doing the CD, I then decided to jump right in to doing a 7″ singles club. While working on the club, I released a few CDs, and the rest is history… it was never really meant to be a label, it just sorta happened. The name for the label comes from the first compilation title Happy Happy Birthday to Me. The first CD was a celebration I threw for the zine for making it to the 4 year mark. So the name just stuck.
Where should I send stuff, or who do I contact?
Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records
P.O. Box 742
Athens, GA 30603 USA
How do I get copies of HHBTM titles for my radio show, magazine, zine, or blog?
Press: Mike @ mike@crashingthroughpublicity.com
Radio: Shil @ shil@tigerbombpromo.com
Who do I contact to book a HHBTM band for a house show, club show, or festival?
It’s best to contact the booking agent for the bands who have booking agents and all other artists you can contact the label. A listing of bands and their booking contacts can be found below.
Antlered Auntlord – hhbtmrecs@gmail.com
Cowtown – hhbtmrecs@gmail.com
Eureka California – eurekacaliforniaband@gmail.com
Flatmates – hhbtmrecs@gmail.com
Fred Schneider & the Superions – hhbtmrecs@gmail.com
His Name Is Alive – tmany@paradigmagency.com
Joe Jack Talcum – hhbtmrecs@gmail.com
Marshmallow Coast – hhbtmrecs@gmail.com
Skinny Girl Diet – themangle@gmail.com
Tunabunny – hhbtmrecs@gmail.com
The Wedding Present – ahedrick@paradigmagency.com
Who distributes HHBTM, and how can I get added to the list?
Currently HHBTM is distributed by MVD and Revolver in the United States and Cargo in the UK. You can also get HHBTM titles from Jigsaw Records mail-order. HHBTM also from time to time does different color vinyl exclusives with Rough Trade as well. If you are a record store, mailorder, or distributor that would like to carry hhbtm titles, please drop me an email at hhbtmrecs@gmail.com.
I would like to send my demo in for consideration, what should I do?
Send a nice email and links to your Soundcloud or Bandcamp to hhbtmrecs@gmail.com. I try to reply, but it might take a few weeks.
Can I feature music from HHBTM releases in my podcast?
Please do! Consider this a blanket license for podcasts. And thanks for wanting to shine some light in our direction. Some rules of thumb: Don’t use more than two songs from the same album on any one podcast. Never use more than half of the tracks from one release in any number of podcasts. Please mention that your listeners can buy the album at www.hhbtm.com and see performances by the artist you feature.
I have an mp3 blog. Can I post a song file?
Yes. Same rules as above apply. Always give your readers a highlighted link back to us. At the end of the day we can’t do what we do without selling some records. Blogs, in our view, help us do this, just like radio play would. If you would like to be included on our special mailing list of bloggers who receive links to electronic demos, please send us an email with a link to your blog and any traffic stats you might have.
Will HHBTM ever do another 7” singles club?
The odds are pretty high that there will be another 7” singles club in the future. Usually the right bands all have to line up together and there has to be enough time to devote to making the singles special and not just some mass produced product.
Why does HHBTM tend to do deluxe versions of most releases?
I can only really speak for myself (Mike) but as a record nerd I loved finding cool promo items or first pressing alternates. So we try to make a low run of deluxe versions for each release (usually under 100 copies) where we will do color vinyl, and sometimes even make a cool promo item like a tote-bag, keychain, pillowcase, coffee-mug, button, poster, zine…It just depends on the release. Most of the deluxe versions tend to sell out in pre-order so I always urge folks to subscribe to the mailing list, like the Facebook page, and to act quickly as most of them don’t stick around long.
What is Athens POPFEST?
Athens PopFest was a music festival that took place in Athens, Georgia for a few days each year from 2004 through 2018. It was a lot of fun, but the label is moving on to other projects. The festival might come back one day, but probably not as Athens Popfest or maybe just not in Athens.
Label Contact
For questions about the label, distribution or how to book bands, contact Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records:
Press Contact
For band press information, contact mike@crashingthroughpublicity.com.
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 742
Athens, GA 30603 USA